Liam Barr

Lately, my mornings have aligned.
I reach the tram stop just as one arrives.

I've never checked the timetable.
I haven't needed to.
The trams are frequent but it still feels like synchronicity.

This morning didn't seem so aligned.
I watched as the tram pulled away.

Oh well. Can't always align.

I kept walking at my usual pace.
A missed tram only sours the day if I let it.

Then I noticed another right behind it.

We reached the stop at the same time.
I caught myself grinning at the universe's joke.

The first tram was the setup.
The punchline was a minute behind.

We wait all year for the holiday.
Sometimes even more.
Once we land, we'll switch off.

Then we're there.
For one afternoon we relax.

On the second morning some cloud rolls in.
We check the forecast.
Then the emails. Just to be sure.
By lunch we're back online.

It's the same thing we do back home.
Only now there's a nicer view to lose.

A holiday only takes whoever turns up.
Only we decide who that'll be.

We keep looking for somewhere safe to stand.
A settled routine seems like it.
So does a plan with every gap filled in.
Or one person who always thinks well of us.

Each of them is good ground.
And each of them can shift.

There's one place that holds.
Our own judgement once fear and anger quieten.

A plan falling apart can't reach it.
Neither can someone changing their mind.

It's been under us the whole time.
It holds the moment we choose to stand on it.